The Larwood and Voce Pub and Kitchen
Fox Road
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 6AJ
0115 981 9960
Website | Email
Visit: September 2009
Summary: Disappointing. Over-salted and over-priced.
This Bridgford gastropub has a very promising menu, lots of things that sound very tasty. Because of the style of pub, the higher prices are to be expected, but it also means expectations go up. Granted, we visited on a fairly busy night as members of a party, but that doesn't hide the fact that the food wasn't quite up to scratch. Not to say that we are food experts by any stretch of the imagination, but we can tell the difference between seriously good food and average food - and this was average, at best.
Starters: We had potted duck and a pork terrine, both around £5 each. The potted duck came in a cute little glass container with lid (like a smaller version of one of these) and was served at room temperature. It didn't taste of duck very much and felt very greasy. It was served with some toast, one of the slices half-burned. The pork terrine was served cold on a bed of lettuce which had seen better days - parts of it was brown and mushy. It had a nice flavour, went very well with the apple sauce it came with. Tasty, not outstanding.
Mains: Roast chicken with sage roasted new potatoes and gravy (£12.50) and - lifted straight from the online menu - Grilled Manor farm sirloin (16oz on the bone) chips in dripping & Bérnaise sauce (£19.95). The sirloin was ordered medium/rare... came in medium/well done. The allegedly award-winning chips didn't seem any different from the one we could get in a local chippy, for a fraction of the cost. The béarnaise sauce we have in a packet in the kitchen cupboard had a nicer flavour and doesn't seem to just be some fatty bit without flavour! The chicken was quite small with some overly salted potatoes on the side, some overly salted and very crispy sliced broad (?) beans. For the cost, we were expecting a lot more than this. If it had been a big chain pub with 2-for-1 offers, fair enough, but for a pub which makes itself out to be a great restaurant, it was a big let-down. If we go out, we do so to be wowed by people who are better cooks than ourselves, but I think we would've had a much nicer meal at home, to be honest.
Desserts: Sticky toffee pudding with banana ice cream and a chocolate tart with hazelnuts and whipped cream, both around £5. The chocolate tart didn't seem to taste much of chocolate, and we expected the hazelnuts to be sort of integrated in it, not sprinkled on top, but it was a nice slice. The sticky toffee pudding was rather nice, as it happened. Good flavour, sticky, spungy and warm.
Service: A bit on the slow side, but we were part of a large-ish party, so that it takes some time before food comes out is to be expected, really.
Inside: Standard pub, nothing special. Bar separated from restaurant area.
Outside: It's a big building next to the Trent Bridge cricket ground, doesn't seem to have enough parking spots.
Earlier in the day, we had looked at the menu on the website and thought it sounded really nice, looked forward to the evening. Once we got there, we were just disappointed, unfortunately. We would not decide to dine there again based on this experience, as there are better establishments in the area. On the plus side, they source all their ingredients locally and the bread we had before the starters came in was lovely, even if the butter tasted a bit funny.
It was an okay meal, but that's all. If we had wanted an okay meal, we can just go to a place like the Harvester and only pay half the price. If we're going to spend over £30 on main courses alone, we expect something rather delicious, not "we could've done this better at home". We would've at least expected the steak to be as ordered...
The Larwood & Voce are a part of the local Mole Face Pub Company, who also run the Lord Nelson in Burton Joyce and the Wollaton in Wollaton. We might try those out as well, at some point. Maybe.
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